Gordon in gear for cross-state challenge

Gordon Cruden pictured at Benaiah, which local charity Teen Challenge North East Scotland is raising funds to buy. The centre accommodates women, with their children, who are recovering from addiction.

Published:10:39Thursday 02 June 2016

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A North-east biker is gathering impressive support in the USA for a mammoth fund-raising challenge that will involve visiting all 50 states in just 30 days.

Gordon Cruden, area manager of addiction recovery charity Teen Challenge North East Scotland, is gearing up to tackle the American Motorbike Challenge, an epic adventure will see him clock up 15,000 miles to cover the length and breadth of the country.

Gordon is using the initiative to raise awareness of the importance of residential support for those struggling with substance misuse, and to raise money for Teen Challenge North East Scotland’s Buy Benaiah campaign.

The project is a five-year fund-raising drive to raise £535,000 to purchase Benaiah, an addiction recovery home for women and their children, which has reached its half-way point.

Teen Challenge North East Scotland also operates the Sunnybrae centre for men, near Fyvie.

And a host of US businesses and organisations are rallying behind the campaign. Michigan-based motorcycle dealership Perry Harley-Davidson will hold a launch party for Gordon,when he kick-starts the challenge from the company’s base in Portage on June 18.

He is also being backed by the Church Project in Woodlands Texas, which he will reach at the mid-way point in the challenge, which will sponsor a bike service at its local Harley-Davidson dealership. It will also hold an awareness-raising event to highlight the campaign.

And Highlander Hardwood Floors in New York has donated an E-Zpass, an electronic toll-collecting system for travelling through states in the north east.

Gordon said: “We are already sitting at £270,000 thanks to the many people who have been inspired to help women break free from addictions.

“This wave of support is now spreading to the US with a number of individuals, businesses and organisations rallying behind the cause with fantastic donations and contributions, which is hugely encouraging.”

Further information about the charity is available by calling Benaiah on 01771 620 100, Sunnybrae on 01651 891 627, or at www.tcns.org.uk